New Orleans After Katrina

[Martin Le Acadien]

DATELINE 7 SEPTEMBER, 2005

I have been able to return home to Southern Lafourche Parish since our water system has been energized and electricity (Hydro for the Possum Lodge types). My family and myself on Friday Morning (AUG 26) jumped into the truck and hooked up the Travel Trailer and went to Rayne, LA where the Civic Center has RV hookups. The Civic Center started filling up on Saturday Morning when it was announced that the beeline was for the New Orleans area! The Good People of Rayne opened their Civic center up and it filled with over 1000 people very quickly along with 7000 people in the Cajun Dome In Lafayetyte, LA!

I was called upon to operate my Amateur Radio Station (HAM) at the Civic center since the phone lines were jammed in Southern Louisiana! The few stations left on the3 air in SouthEast Louisiana and especially the New Orleans area had put out frantic calls for help and by Sunday Night, we knew the situation was desparate in New Orleans. With the break in the Seventeenth Street Canal, Gentilly and Uptown neighbourhoods were quickly filling with water, some places only a foot or so, other places over 10 feet (3 Meters) so people were trapped like rats on roofs or in houses. Several evacuees in our shelter had lost everything and when the news of the flooding aftermath of the hurricane reached the Center, several people lost it, breaking down and crying. It was all my family could do to help and comfort these helpless folks who had lost it all. My wife had emptied our freezer before leaving our house and we donated all our food to the shelter since the local community was doing the same! No USA or Louisiana officials in sight, the response was initially on our own and the reports coming off my ham radio did not offer encouragement.

By Tuesday morning, the news of the looting and lawlessness was even in the mainstream news and the failure of the Response of the Government in Baton Rouge to coordinate relief was evident in the radio transmissions I monitored. Different agencies were giving orders and a fuel truck with diesel meant for New Orleans was diverted to another place, the New Orleans Police Dept was trying to hold their own, 2 officers committed suicide when the stress got to them, but with armed thugs, high water and destruction all around, they did respond gallantly! The order came on Wednesday that the Nation Guard was coming since rescuers who trying to get people out were taking gunfire. It was broadcast on all police, fire, ham and finally broadcast stations that Governor of Louisiana had authorized the use of any and all FORCE necessary to secure the City of New Orleans. Several "thugs" fired upon disaster workers at the Danziger Bridge and the Police and National Guard returned fire killing five, wounding 3. 175 looters as of this morning are being held at the New Orleans Bus and Train Station for shipment to Federal Jails since New Orleans is under Martial Law. Looting earns you 10 yrs in Jail, with a firearm 25 yrs, firing upon any official-DEATH PENALTY!

Gasoline and Diesel are in Short supply here, food is limited to what can be shipped in without spoilage, I am only located about 45 miles or 70 Kilometers SouthWest of New Orleans and the local radio transmissions don't tell the whole stroy of this tragedy. As I listen to the Radio and sometimes asked to relay messages, I can not tell you all on the board how hard this Hurricane Katrina has hit our community. We had wind damage and I lost shingles, 3 trees and clutered yard, our neighbours in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes have really suffered. I went to Jefferson Parish to lend my generator to a Ham helping out in a Sheriff's Substation and I brought 10 kilos of coffee which was more welcomed than even the Generator!

Our phones switch through new Orleans and our electricity comes from Jefferson Parish, but our lines are being jumped around and the outlying areas are getting supplied from the West, we still have to limit our use!

THE ACADIENS WERE DERANGED IN 1755 BY AN ACT OF MAN, IN 2005 IT WAS AN ACT OF NATURE.

WILL REBUILD NEW ORLEANS AND LOUISIANA1

 

[Martin Le Acadien]

I still hardly know what to think or say about this. A fabulous and vital piece of American civilization, the city that birthed two of America's greatest contributions to world civilization and culture--the blues and jazz--has been destroyed. I weep. I bleed. I rage, because it was avoidable. I want to be there, in a boat, a helicopter, an SUV, a bus, whatever, rescuing people. But I cannot. So I've made what contributions I can to the relief agencies, mostly the Red Cross, and I've written strongly worded letters to my MP and the Prime Minister urging them to give whatever help and support this little country can.

But it can never be enough. There's no real recovery from this. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost or terribly damaged. Mostly, alas, the lives of people in America's vast and impoverished black underclass. It didn't even need overt discrimination to make that happen; when the evacuation order came, these were the ones left behind, the people with no place to go and no way to get out.

I wish the CBC reporters I've come to rely on for good information were still on the job. I'm afraid the situation might be far worse than I've been able to see, because the sources I trust the most aren't at work. Even CNN, which has been a shill for the Bush administration from the beginning, is openly displaying anger and grief, so it's gotta be very bad.

I say: abandon the city, it's been destroyed, most of it is well below sea level, it's not a safe location, if you rebuild there it'll be destroyed again, so rebuild somewhere else, up river, above sea level. That's the only safe thing to do when there's a far right regime in power that has consistently cut the budgets for levee maintenance and flood protection and water management...

Or: do it right. The Dutch know how to do it. Half that country is below sea level, and the Dutch invest vast sums in dike maintenance, flood control, and water management, ever since a major flood in the 1950s did terrible damage there. It can be done, with understanding and knowledge and commitment. And funding. That's the key, and that's what Shrubya took away with his budget cuts. Ignorant dumb bastard.

I don't know anybody in New Orleans, I've never been there, probably never will be now, but I know it was once a fabulous place. It's gone now.

Dammit...[/quote}

The Canadians are here with the Red Cross, Met 2 fine gentleman from Nova Scotia at the Rayne Civic Center in Rayne, Louisiana!

Yes, we WILL REBUILD, so plan on Mardi Gras in the future!

Bush may not be the blame on this one, finger pointing is showing up some local folks who should have been on the BALL! Local money diverted from flood control and levee maintaince by "gasp" Louisiana Politicos.

Stay Tuned, it is bad, I have seen it with my own eyes and I live in the shadow of New Orleans!

 

[Reverend Blair]

Yes, we WILL REBUILD, so plan on Mardi Gras in the future!

Okay, but I'm staying at your house, Martin. Buy lots of beer. :wink:

I'm sure there were plenty of things going on at the local level, Martin. As near as I can tell Louisiana is almost as bad as BC when it comes to political scandals. :lol: At the very end of things, it is the federal government (usually through FEMA) who is supposed to take control. We've seen that in disaster after disaster in the US. A hurricane or tornado or flood hits and the feds are there pretty quickly. It's Bush who put Browne in charge of FEMA and FEMA under the control of Homeland Security.

I was wondering how you made out though Martin. It's good to know that you're okay.

 

[Martin Le Acadien]

Yes, we WILL REBUILD, so plan on Mardi Gras in the future!

Okay, but I'm staying at your house, Martin. Buy lots of beer. :wink:

I'm sure there were plenty of things going on at the local level, Martin. As near as I can tell Louisiana is almost as bad as BC when it comes to political scandals. :lol: At the very end of things, it is the federal government (usually through FEMA) who is supposed to take control. We've seen that in disaster after disaster in the US. A hurricane or tornado or flood hits and the feds are there pretty quickly. It's Bush who put Browne in charge of FEMA and FEMA under the control of Homeland Security.

I was wondering how you made out though Martin. It's good to know that you're okay.

1. Were OK, wife just went to the Insurance Co Office to initiate a claim for the damage, roof (shingles and a Leak)

2. Beer is on ME, Kegs of the stuff is available, sorry, not as good as Northern stuff.

3. Louisiana and BC Officials proabably have a cross training session or something, there is an investigation that Federal Levee money may have been misdirected, even Bush wants a investigation!

4. FEMA is a sore subject down here, when it was under the President, it worked fine, now as a served agency repoerting to Homeland Security, it is more INFLEXABLE and prone to mistakes since it reports to a Military Type Organization than directly to congress and the Pres.

5. Actually the State Govt is suposed to have a "PLAN" and the Federals support it with MONEY but the locals basically did not develop their plans to depth needed for the response ($$$$), they took the money and put together a "PLAN?" on paper hoping they would never have to execute it and they lost the bet! Mississippi had a plan along with a local responce organizations and they came out ahead!